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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205721">Tempus Finis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH'>NanakiBH</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, End of the World, Multi, Past Lives, Reunions, Tragedy, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:01:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The truth is, I can't stop any of this. But I'll keep smiling for you guys. That's my role, and it's the least I can do.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ava/Demyx (Kingdom Hearts), Ava/Master of Masters (Kingdom Hearts), Demyx/Xigbar (Kingdom Hearts), Luxu/Master of Masters (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tempus Finis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote the first half of this as Final Fantasy Type-0 fic and then just replaced the names. If Nomura can do it, so can I!!</p>
<p>I'm 99.999% sure the MoM's past was based on <a href="https://nanakibh.tumblr.com/post/627547266849357825/final-fantasy-agito-first-cycle-final-chapter">this.</a> I almost wish I had written this first because I feel like that sounds so much like what I was going to write. As usual, I'm just writing out what I imagine before the next game can come and tell me how I'm wrong. lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The young Superbia stood still, holding the wounded body of his childhood friend in his arms. As his senses returned to him, her tender face seemed to finally come into focus. Although dirtied and covered in blood, she wore a faint smile.</p>
<p>	“Ava...?” he muttered, his voice coming out strained and soft.</p>
<p>	Weakly, she lifted a hand and held his cheek in her palm. Even at that moment, in that condition, she looked like an angel on the battlefield.</p>
<p>	“What have I...?”</p>
<p>	“It's okay...,” she said, though to Superbia, it surely was not. “It wasn't your fault. Please... Smile...”</p>
<p>	How could he?</p>
<p>	He had killed the reason for his smile.</p>
<p>	But he understood. He loved her kindness, and it was his smile which had given her the strength to be so kind. All along, it was just a fake smile... But she knew that, and it hadn't made a difference to her. For the intention it held, she loved it all the same.</p>
<p>	Although it was painful, he smiled one more time for her, and then she was gone. In a flash of light, she disappeared from his arms. He immediately sunk to his knees, his arms still held out in front of him as if waiting for her to somehow return to them.</p>
<p>	Through the clouds of sand and dust, a young man approached. He may have been the only other person left alive after the chaos he'd wrought. As the wind swept away the dust, Superbia recognized the boy's dark red hair. A part of him ridiculously felt relieved to see him, even though he knew that there wasn't anything else to feel so joyous about.</p>
<p>	“Luxu...”</p>
<p>	Luxu stopped in front of him. There was no hatred in his eyes – only dismay. It hurt to see him with such an expression. Superbia had seen him angry, he'd seen him looking smug and confident... But he hated it when he looked sad. Superbia thought they had some things in common, but their main point of difference was Luxu's willingness to show his true feelings. If something made him hurt, he did nothing to hide his suffering. In a way, Superbia admired that aspect just as much as Ava's kindness.</p>
<p>	That sad look on his face was familiar in an unusual way, though.</p>
<p>	Everything was familiar...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	“I've been here before...,” Superbia said quietly, speaking only to himself and the howling wind.</p>
<p>	The accursed blade fell from his grasp and disappeared.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	“What are you talking about?” Luxu asked. He began to approach him cautiously. “Are-... Are you <i>you</i> again?”</p>
<p>	Numbly, Superbia nodded. He looked at Luxu, but his gaze went through him, looking toward once-forgotten memories. “Last time, it was someone else. The darkness turned them against us... Now I'm... I'm the one who-...”</p>
<p>	“But you aren't being possessed anymore, right? R-right...?” Luxu stopped short of him, surely keeping enough distance to draw his blade if he needed to.</p>
<p>	Superbia didn't begrudge him for his wariness... Though he knew that if the darkness still had a hold of him, there would be nothing Luxu could do to stop him. He may not have been very smart, but he'd always been proud of his mastery of the blade. On that day, everything he loved had been wrested from him – even his pride. Under the command of the darkness, the skills he'd honed to protect the ones he loved had been used to slaughter them.</p>
<p>	In the end, he was really worse than useless...</p>
<p>	It would have been better if he'd been weak, he thought. At least then, he wouldn't have been able to hurt anyone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	There was nothing left anymore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	The hearts of the fallen were rising in a vortex toward the ominous sky. The ground beneath them was trembling. As he knew from his memories, soon, the land would sink into the ocean, and then...</p>
<p>	“If you're you, then... At least...” Luxu looked around at all of the nothing around them. He wasn't exactly one known for his optimism, but he wasn't the type to give up that easily, either. “There's still a way we can at least save the world, right?”</p>
<p>	Superbia shook his head. “No... We failed. I have to be the one who ends it... And then, all of our memories... Everyone's going to forget... All of the good things, and all the bad things...”</p>
<p>	“What do you mean? Everybody's already...”</p>
<p>	Yes, they were gone. But not forever.</p>
<p>	Eternity wasn't allowed to claim them – not yet, anyway. What awaited them was the oblivion of death; the cycle which stole their memories and prevented them from correcting their mistakes.</p>
<p>	“I told you. I've been here before. The world already ended. This might not even be the first time we've had this conversation.” With effort, legs trembling, he returned to his feet. He stepped closer to Luxu and looked into his eyes, letting him see the 'gift' so graciously bestowed upon him by the darkness. “I can see the destiny of the world with these eyes. Everything that happened before is going to happen again.”</p>
<p>	“So how do we stop it?” he asked, his expression becoming a scowl. “How do we save the world?!”</p>
<p>	“We can't.”</p>
<p>	“You're just giving up...?”</p>
<p>	That was an option. But if they chose that option, then there really would be nothing left. There was a difference between giving up and recognizing one's limits.</p>
<p>	“Saving the world is nowhere in our destiny. We don't have the power that's necessary... But I can see a glimmer of hope.”</p>
<p>	“Whatever that glimmer is, I'll do whatever it takes to make it come true. We have to-...” Once more, Luxu was overcome by emotion as he looked around them at the place where their comrades once were. “We have to save them...”</p>
<p>	Superbia knew that he probably didn't sound like himself. If he could've brought himself to make a joke, he wondered if it would've made Luxu smile. ...Probably not, huh? The time for jokes was long gone.</p>
<p>	“I was always just laughing and joking around... All I ever did was lie. I pretended like everything was okay so you guys wouldn't worry. But things just kept getting worse, and before I knew it, I couldn't even make anyone smile anymore. I'm totally useless, aren't I?” Despite the pain in his heart, he couldn't even cry. Useless. “I know that this will probably sound weird coming from me, but you guys were... You were my friends. I don't even care about the world – you guys are the most important thing to me. You were all... so much better than me. Without you, the world might as well disappear.”</p>
<p>	At the least, he was glad that Luxu was the last one there with him. Luxu understood what it was like to lose the ones he loved. They may have fought, but there was no such thing as enemies in the end. They were just the last two people in the world.</p>
<p>	The pure feelings in his tear-filled eyes told Superbia that he was feeling something similar.</p>
<p>	“I hurt you guys so much...,” Luxu said. “You don't know how grateful I am that you'd still consider me your friend after everything.”</p>
<p>	There was no longer a need for anything like embarrassment, so Superbia grabbed him and held him tightly. It was ironic, yet it somehow felt fitting for two former enemies to hold each other at the end of the world. Maybe that was the way it was meant to be. Maybe wishing for anything else was a mistake... Maybe it really was all meant to disappear at that moment, ending on that one poignant note.</p>
<p>	But he couldn't let it.</p>
<p>	It may have been beautiful in the most tragic way, but Superbia hated sad things.</p>
<p>	“The world's going to end soon...,” he said, gently stroking a hand around Luxu's back as Luxu cried helplessly against his shoulder.</p>
<p>	“Do you really have to end it?”</p>
<p>	“It'll end with or without me. The power I was given is the power to turn back the world's clock. As long as we're in agreement, I can use it. All we're really doing is postponing the inevitable, though...”</p>
<p>	“Don't say that. We'll do it. Whatever it takes.” He pulled back to look at him, his eyes filled with desperation and determination. “I mean it. I don't care what we have to do. We can't let it end this way... You understand what lengths I'm willing to go to. I'll do anything. I owe this to them.”</p>
<p>	“Yeah... You're a real reliable guy.”</p>
<p>	“I'm just good at doing what I'm told. It's all I've ever done. So... Let this be the last order I follow.”</p>
<p>	Superbia hated to do that to him, but he was willing to honor his final wish.</p>
<p>	He knew what Luxu was really saying. He'd seen what Luxu's comrades had been willing to do in order to win. Only the end of the world itself could stop them from achieving what they wanted, even using their own lives as weapons. From a distance, they looked like pawns, but up close... Superbia saw how much strength and selflessness it took for them to willingly sacrifice themselves in such a way.</p>
<p>	Luxu was gentler than the rest of them, though. At heart, he hated all of the fighting. He only participated because he saw it as a means to an end.</p>
<p>	That gentle enemy was Superbia's greatest ally.</p>
<p>	When the concept of 'sides' ceased to exist, there was just the fact that they had both been aiming for the same goal – to save the world.</p>
<p>	“W-we came so far...,” Luxu said sadly. “If you turn back the world's clock, then... All of that progress is going to d-disappear... I don't want to fight you all again.”</p>
<p>	“I don't know what's going to happen to me.” Pushing back his sleeve, Superbia revealed his wrist where the cost of his gift was spreading. “I'm already turning to crystal... But as long as I can still move, I'll use this power to its fullest. I won't let it defeat me. I'll make sure that we stay together for as long as destiny permits.”</p>
<p>	The future seen through his eyes was constantly changing, though it remained fixed around one point – that moment when everything would end and return to darkness. He had to do something to narrow the path, to eliminate all of the unwanted possibilities and make it easier for them to reach that far-off glimmer of hope. He wasn't even sure what form it took... All he knew was that there was a chance, even if it was infinitesimally small.</p>
<p>	He was stupid... and useless...</p>
<p>	There wasn't anything he could do to stop the things that were destined.</p>
<p>	But he absolutely refused to let the darkness take his friends from him. If he had to, he'd find a way to eradicate the darkness entirely.</p>
<p>	At that moment, he decided. They were going to seize their future, even if it meant seeing those tragedies repeat themselves a million more times. Even if it meant repeating the sadness of a billion more lives. He'd always smiled for them, even when it hurt... And he could keep smiling.</p>
<p>	If it wasn't in his destiny to change destiny itself, then he'd just have to seize that future with the hand of someone who could.</p>
<p>	He'd always been good at fooling other people into what he wanted, after all. He'd only done that to avoid having to do his own homework, but... Well, a skill was a skill, wasn't it? He'd use whatever he had at his disposal.</p>
<p>	“Whatever happens, even if I turn to crystal and lose my memories, I'll find my way back to you. For once, you can trust the words I'm saying. This is a promise. I'm sure that this moment will stay in my heart forever. You... Ava... Everyone... You'll always be here,” he said, clutching a hand over his chest. “We may not recognize each other, but... Well, if I manage to come up with a strategy, it oughta work itself out in the end somehow, right?”</p>
<p>	He shoved his feelings down once more and forced a smile.</p>
<p>	Luxu returned it weakly.</p>
<p>	“What'll we do?” he asked.</p>
<p>	“Huh...?”</p>
<p>	“When we're together again,” Luxu said, reaching out to loosely hold one of Superbia's hands. “What's the first thing you want to do with everyone?”</p>
<p>	Superbia hardly had to think about it. For a long time... Probably, for longer than he even remembered, he'd known what his ideal future looked like. It stayed at the center of his heart because it was so simple. “I want to hear Ava's music again... I wanna play with her, too, and I want everyone to dance.”</p>
<p>	“...A dance party?”</p>
<p>	“Yeah.” It seemed so real in his mind, he could imagine it really becoming true. “And we'll have cake! I never did get to take everyone to that bakery with the awesome cake.”</p>
<p>	It looked like Luxu's smile became a little easier. He pulled Superbia in close again and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.</p>
<p>	“To a future where we're all dancing and eating cake.”</p>
<p>	“Yeah! To a future where we're always smiling and having fun.”</p>
<p>	The world was ending.</p>
<p>	He had to quickly use his power before it all turned to darkness.</p>
<p>	“Let's close our eyes, Luxu. When we wake up, we'll be together again in a new world.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“So you're telling us that this is how it used to be?” Aced asked, leaning an elbow on the table – which Invi prodded off for the sake of politeness.</p>
<p>	“Yeah,” Demyx said, gesturing with his fork. He thoughtfully shoved another piece of the Bistro's delicious cake in his mouth. “Well, at least I think so... You guys were always together like this. And if I remember, then that means I was with you, right? The only thing that's different is Xiggy's face~”</p>
<p>	They all shared a laugh at Xigbar's expense. Although he scowled, Xigbar didn't seem to have it in him to be mad. It only took a moment for him to be laughing with them.</p>
<p>	“Still...,” Ava said, staring down at her barely-touched cake.</p>
<p>	The others quieted as they looked down at the small girl sitting beside Demyx.</p>
<p>	She looked up at them and met their eyes resolutely.</p>
<p>	“The only reason we can be here is because...”</p>
<p>	“Aaaaagh, come <i>on</i>... I knew you'd get hung up on that,” Demyx groaned. “That's why I couldn't tell you anything. I knew you wouldn't go along with it if we had to do bad things. But you gotta consider what our choices were; keep letting the world repeat until we find the way to save it – or let it end forever. I did what I could, and it worked! We should all be happy.” He stuck his fork in his mouth and clapped his hands in self-congratulations.</p>
<p>	“We should at least help that boy,” Invi said with a sympathetic frown.</p>
<p>	Slumping, Demyx crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “After all that work, you want us to get back to work already~?”</p>
<p>	Xigbar grinned at him dangerously. “Oh? And how much work did you do in the Organization? Wasn't that your vacation?”</p>
<p>	“If that was supposed to be a vacation, it wasn't long enough...”</p>
<p>	“But you know,” Gula began, stroking his chin, “it is pretty impressive that we actually saved the world by... not saving it. That really is an idea only Superbia would come up with.” He paused, glancing aside with an eyebrow raised. “...Wait. Superbia? Since when have I ever called him that? And isn't he supposed to be smart? Why do I actually feel like he's always been an idiot?”</p>
<p>	Demyx cried out and flopped halfway across the table. “No! Stop it! You aren't supposed to remember things from that far back! Stop remembering! I-I'm your super smart Master!!”</p>
<p>	“Sorry, buddy,” Xigbar said with a laugh, pushing Demyx back to his side of the table. “The mystery's gone. Now everybody knows just what a genius you are.”</p>
<p>	Demyx sat back and tearfully put another piece of cake in his mouth. “Yeah... You guys're all smarter than me...” He glanced up. “Maybe not Aced, though.”</p>
<p>	“Wh-- Hey!”</p>
<p>	And then they all shared a laugh at Aced's expense.</p>
<p>	That time, even Ava laughed.</p>
<p>	“I'm sorry,” she said through giggles. “It's just... It feels really good to laugh with everyone like this. I think it really is like Mas-... Like Demyx said. We've all known each other for even longer than we know. I may not be able to remember everything that happened in other lives, but I can tell that this is how it was always supposed to be. I may not agree with the choices he made... But I'm not sure I would have been able to do things any differently if I had been in his position.”</p>
<p>	Ira nodded. “It doesn't matter what it took to bring us here. The fact is that we're here now. Together.”</p>
<p>	“Eating cake,” Demyx added, taking another piece for himself.</p>
<p>	“It... It is very good cake,” Ira agreed, reaching for another before Demyx could take it all for himself. “I should get the recipe.”</p>
<p>	Gula watched them with a bewildered stare. “Yeah, but we're still gonna help that kid, right?”</p>
<p>	Demyx waved a hand at him. “We'll get to it. Lemme finish this first.”</p>
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